Thanks to all the members who participated in planning and celebrating Pedro’s Harvest and our first Tribeca CSA season! The culinary creations were festive, deliciously fresh, local and sweet (lots of butternut squash and sweet potatoes!).

We have 2 distributions left and an end-of-season survey in the works. Please take a few minutes to complete it as the information helps us plan for next year. For those who would like to ensure a spot for 2010, registration forms will be attached to end of survey. More details coming soon. See you at distribution!

News

The Harvest Dinner is this Sunday, October 18th, 4-6pm, at the park! If you haven’t yet, please RSVP via email to lizzvw@mac.com. Also, key an eye out for an email through the Group in case we find an indoor venue to move to, we’ll keep you posted!

News From the Farm

The first freeze of the season has arrived with evening temperatures dropping to 31 degrees. This is always a busy time for Pedro as they rush to harvest what is available to prevent the weather from destroying too much of the harvest. Remember that Pedro has told us that the leafy vegetables are the first to die in cold weather, only collard greens and cilantro are hearty enough to survive although the cilantro will turn purple. Squashes and in-ground veggies are completely safe and will lose the leafy stems though not much else. Eggplants however will not survive.

As always, you can check the work shift schedule anytime by looking at the Work Shift Calendar!

Vegetable Highlight: Turnips

The most common type of turnip is mostly white-skinned apart from the upper 1–6 centimeters, which protrude above the ground and are purple, red, or greenish wherever sunlight has fallen. The turnip’s root is high only in Vitamin C. The green leaves of the turnip top (“turnip greens”) are a good source of Vitamin A, folate, Vitamin C, Vitamin K and calcium.

Turnip Tips

Although available year-round, turnips are BEST during their peak season, which is October through March.

Raw turnips will last up to 2 weeks in your refrigerator crisper.

Turnips provide a great crunch and texture, so be sure not to overcook.

Turnips are well known for their bitter flavor if not prepared correctly.

Simple Ways To Prepare

Bake – 350 degrees for 30-45 min

Boil – place a potato in the water and cook alongside the turnip to take out the bitterness.

Sautee – heat olive oil, add peeled turnips, add a couple teaspoons of water after a minutes, continue to sautee for 5-10 min.

Steam – peeled whole turnips will take 20-25 minutes, quartered or dices will take 10-15 minutes.

Thanks to Gina for hosting our amazingly spicy “Hot Sauce Get Together”! We’ve managed to come up with FIVE different recipes using up several pounds of Serranos and Cayannes. We HIGHLY recommend handling the peppers with disposable rubber gloves and occasionally goggles to avoid injuries. With so many taste tests, everyone felt the HEAT!!! Hope this inspires you to try it at home. Here are some highlights:

Cut stems off peppers and cut peppers in half lengthwise. Remove seeds and ribs. Preheat broiler. Place peppers, cut side down, on rack in broiler pan. Broil for about 5 minutes or until the skin blisters and blackens. Transfer peppers to a plastic bag for about 10 minutes. When cool, peel off skins(we actually left them on!).

Place chile pulp and garlic in a blender or food processor. With machine running, slowly add the vinegar until the mixture is well blended. Add salt to taste. Cover and refrigerate. Will keep in the refrigerator for weeks. Makes about 1 cup.

Most of the recipes we found called for vinegar and garlic beyond that there is a million ways to mix and match and get creative with hot peppers!!! Try adding apple sauce, tomatillos or corn…Have fun and send in your creations to tribeca-csa@googlegroups.com!

Work Shift Commitment Active member participation is integral to making our brand of CSA sustainable. It’s the work you put in that allows our growers to allocate more resources towards producing the best produce they can. By facilitating the marketing and distribution locally, we save our small farms from the ... Continue reading →